GeekOut director talks May 4 convention

The pop culture convention returns May 4 and is already bigger (and I think, better). For one, GeekOut — and all of its costuming, live panels, art and gaming — has moved from the Renaissance Hotel basement into the Sherill Convention Center at UNCA.

This fan fest’s director, Ken Krahl, shared me a bit of what he’s looking forward to on Saturday, what he learned from last year’s event, as well as some geeky scheduling coincidences. Look for a full report in the May 3 Scene issue!

—Tell me about what you’ve learned from the previous GeekOut. How have you applied those lessons to this year’s event?

We’re always learning more and more about how to put on a great event, how to run the business end of the convention, everything. We’re already working on 2014, and as much as we learned between last year and this year, we are excited to keep getting better.

—How many people are working behind the scenes and day of to get this event off the ground?

About twenty core staff, and about sixty in all once you count the Geektastic show, photographers, media people, street team, and volunteers. This is compared to last year, when there were literally six or seven of us.

—Tell me about the addition of the kids area. Describe it and why you wanted to add it to the schedule.

We’re really proud of KidzCon. Very proud. No other convention we know of is doing this: a special programming schedule just for fans 4-12. We noticed this last year, and at other cons. People sort of take for granted that kids will be excited all day at a convention, but it’s weird: the stormtroopers and the guy in the Iron Man armor are AMAZING to a kid for an hour or so, but then they tire out, or they want something else to do. That attention span is adjusted differently than a grown-up’s. We realized a lot of our grown fans want to bring kids, and we want those kids to have a blast all day just like the adults. KidzCon focuses on learning, interaction, and a really high activity level throughout the day, while still keeping the adults involved.

—Tell me about the move to UNCA. Why the move and what new opportunities does the venue afford?

Simply, we outgrew everywhere else. The Sherrill Center is gorgeous, and when they asked us if we would like to move the convention center there, we realized we could offer a lot more than we could before. There’s also a LOT of growing room for the years to come, plenty of power and amenities, and the staff there is amazing to work with.

—Describe the atmosphere of GeekOut. What do you tell people who haven’t attended before?

GeekOut is all about celebrating the things that make us happy. Comics, games, animation, movies- all of it. The atmosphere we aim for is Comic-Con meets Mardi Gras.

—For you, What are the highlights of this years event? What was the process behind securing the stars?

I’m personally looking forward to some of the great panels we have lined up- everything from voiceover workshops to debates about who would win in a fight among different characters across fiction.

—Tell me about the Asheville geek community. I think with the rise of multiverse geekout and places like zapow, there is a lot of momentum. Do you agree? If so, why do you think there is this growth? What’s next for this community?

I heard someone very recently say that Asheville’s just not a good town for geeks, and I think that’s just not true. There are a few groups like Multiverse throwing great events, great festivals like Ashtoberfest, Actionfest, and GeekOut, and we have a thriving culture of niche businesses like ZaPow, The Wyvern’s Tale, and the Costume Shoppe. All it takes are dedicated people to mobilize the fans, and that’s what Multiverse has been about. Already, other people are jumping on that bandwagon, and in a few years, this could be Geek City, USA!

—Explain the may 4 date …. May the fourth be with you reference, right?

Haha, that wasn’t on purpose! In fact, it was the only date we were able to get at the Sherrill Center, and it also happens to fall on Free Comic Book Day, which it won’t from now on. We hope everyone visits Pastimes or Comic Envy before coming to the convention- support your local comic shops!

—How would you describe the Asheville geek community? What are some of the major geek events throughout the year?

A lot of the Ashevile scene is “underground,” but not on purpose. There’s a great comic book club that meets at Malaprops every month, a geek meet-up and game night every two weeks at the Hop, Gaming at Firestorm and Wyvern’s Tale every week, and lots more. Then you have GeekOut and Actionfest in the spring and Asheville Comic Expo and Ashtoberfest in the fall.

Multiverse’s other big event, the Time Travelers’ Masquerade, will be back November 2, and we’ll be celebrating the time change in the style of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary!